Tubing of elastic material



Aug. -11, 1942. A. H. GEE 2,292,752

TUBING v 0F ELASTIC MATERIAL Filed Jan. 20, 1942 INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 1 1, 1942 UNITED STATES TUBING OF ELASTIC MATERIAL Albert Haldane Gee, New York, N. Y., assignor to Schering & Glatz, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 20, 1942, Serial No. 427,523

3 Claims.

This invention relates to flexible tubing of elastic material such as rubber, which is used for many purposes in laboratories, hospitals and elsewhere.

When the end of such flexible tubing is attached to any piece of apparatus, for example, a glass tube, or a hollow article which may be provided with an olive or any other shape adapted to receive the end of a piece of flexible tubing, difliculty is often experienced in removing the flexible tubing, and the tubing or the article or apparatus to which it has been applied may be damaged during the removing operation. The difliculty of removal may be particularly great after the tubing has been attached for some time, with the result that cementing or sticking of the tube to the apparatus has taken place. Such cementing or sticking may have been intentionally produced or may have occurred due to the passage of a sticky, gelatinous or tacky liquid through the tubing.

The general object of the invention is to so form the end of a flexible tubing as to facilitate its attachment to and removal from any piece of apparatus to which it may be applied.

The invention will be understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of the end of a flexible tubing of elastic material embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is another elevation of the end of said flexible tubing looking from the left side of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevation showing said flexible tubing applied to a tube of glass or other material; and Fig. 4. shows the parts of Fig. 3 after the flexible tubing of elastic material has been removed.

As will be apparent from Figs. 1 and 2, the end of a flexible tubing 5, of elastic material such as rubber, is provided at an end with a tab 6 which extends longitudinally at one side of the tubing. The tab 6 may be formed in any suitable way, for example, by shearing, punching, die-cutting or molding, either when the tubing is manufactured or subsequently. A simple way to form the tab is to cut the tubing obliquely and then nearly longitudinally with a pair of shears along the section line I indicated in Fig. 1. The exact form of the tab is not important, provided the tab extends longitudinally of the tubing at a side thereof a suficient distance to provide an end which may be grasped by the fingers of the manipulator. When the invention is used with flexible tubing of elastic material having a seam, as indicated at 8 in Fig. 2, it is preferable to cut or otherwise form the tab 6 so that the seam 8 will be located substantially centrally of the tab 6. By so 10- eating the tab 6 with reference to the seam 8 of the flexible tubing, any tendency of the latter to splitting, which usually occurs along the seam, is reduced.

Fig. 3 shows flexible tubing of elastic material embodying the invention, after it has been applied to a tube I0 provided at its end with the usual olive II. In applying the tubing 5 to the olive II, the manipulator may find it convenient to grasp the tab 6 with his flngers; although grasping of the tab 6 may be unnecessary during the applying operation, since the tubing 5 often may be easily slipped on to the olive ll without grasping the tab, particularly if the latter has previously been moistened.

It is in removing the tubing 5 from any part to which it has been applied that the invention is most useful. In performing this removing operation, it. is merely necessary for the operator to grasp the tab 6 with his fingers and peel the end of the tubing off of the part to which it has been attached. Fig. 4 shows the form which the end of the tubing 5 assumes after it has thus been peeled off of an article, such as the olive ll of the tube ID. It will be noted that the end of the tubing has been turned. wrong-side-out as shown at [2. Of course the end of the tubing may easily be restored to the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by pulling the tab longitudinally of the tubing, that is, upwardly as shown in Fig. 4.

While the invention is shown as applied to ordinary flexible tubing of elastic material such as rubber, having the same thickness of wall throughout its length, it will of course be understood that it may be embodied in tubing the wall of which is thickened at the end of the tubing; and, of course, the invention is applicable to tubing having an enlarged end.

What is claimed is:

1. A flexible tubing of elastic material adapted to be connected to a hollow article and provided at its end with an elongated tab extending longitudinally of the tubing at one side thereof for facilitating attaching said tube to and removing it from the said article.

2. A flexible tubing of elastic material adapted to be connected to a hollow article and cut obliquely and then nearly longitudinally at its end thereby forming an elongated tab extending longitudinally of the tubing at one side thereof for facilitating attaching said tube to and removing it from the said article.

3. A flexible tubing of elastic material adapted to be connected to a hollow article and having a seam extending longitudinally thereof and provided at its end with an elongated tab extending longitudinally of the tubing and at one side thereof with the seam substantially in the middle of the tab for facilitating attaching said tube to and removing it from the said article.

ALBERT HALDANE GEE. 

